Star Alliance member airlines have let you use miles from one program to upgrade on flights operated by another member for decades. Members of the oneworld alliance, anchored in the U.S. by American Airlines, were poised to roll out this feature two year ago, but the pandemic interfered. Still, the alliance CEO said it would happen around the time Alaska Airlines joined the alliance. That didn’t happen. Then the promise was end of 2021.

Finally oneworld says it is on track to roll out the platform this year for members of one airline’s program in the alliance to use their miles to upgrade on a flight operated by another airline in the alliance.

This would mean members of American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan could potentially use their miles to upgrade on at least 14 different airlines. Members of the alliance are: Alaska, American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordaniian, S7, SriLankan. In addition Fiji Airways is a 15th pseudo (“Connect”) member.

British Airways First Class

The former head of oneworld frequent flyer program Malaysia Airlines Enrich, though, says it’s not going to happen.

$10 says it never happens

— Mark (@drdoot) February 10, 2022

The way these have worked in the past, using miles from one airline to upgrade on another, has been clunky and really a relic of pre-pandemic times. You’d first have to buy a full fare ticket, the province of a limited number of corporate travelers. And then there would have to be space in a confirmed upgrade inventory bucket (which at some airlines is the same as a bucket for business class award travel) to confirm the upgrade. Long haul international corporate travel in full fare economy is a strange thing to be investing in right now, though perhaps it does return to pre-pandemic levels.

American Airlines has been integrating its frequent flyer benefits closely with a select stable of partners, rather than through the oneworld alliance. Alliances have been less relevant in recent years, compared to joint ventures and bilateral agreements.

• For a decade it’s been possible to use AAdvantage miles to upgrade on British Airways and Iberia, and vice versa (albeit restricted in which tickets can be upgraded, and limited to full fare)

• American and Alaska have introduced reciprocal upgrades for elite members

• American’s Chief Revenue Officer has said that upgrades on joint venture partners Qantas and Japan Airlines are coming

• And they’re planning a ‘joint frequent flyer program’ with non-oneworld member Gol, and for AAdvantage to become the loyalty program of South American carrier JetSmart.

Notably they’re not waiting for alliance upgrades to roll out, and aren’t waiting for alliance upgrade capability to roll out to ride on its rails. They also aren’t limiting themselves to working closely with alliance airlines.

If alliance upgrades do happen soon, we don’t yet know what fare classes will be eligible for upgrade or how confirming upgrades will work, but I’d expect as a first pass that it’ll be similar to how Star Alliance upgrades and existing British Airways-American-Iberia upgrades. This means requiring expensive tickets out of reach of most flyers, rather than upgrades on any fare for domestic and close-in international the way that American and Alaska offer. However that’s a pre-pandemic mindset and I’m hopeful it might be reconsidered.